Andres Oppenheimer

  ''Where is Latin America?'' screamed a Herald editorial earlier this week. Where are the voices of democracy in the region now that Cuba is secretly
  sentencing 78 peaceful pro-democracy activists -- including 28 journalists -- to long prison terms for crimes such as having a tape recorder or -- God forbid
  -- a fax machine?

  Since my job in this newspaper is trying to provide answers to difficult questions like these, I called the foreign ministers of key Latin American countries
  and asked them whether they will speak out on this issue.

  Independent journalist Raul Rivero, for instance, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for violating a new law that prohibits Cubans from writing for foreign
  media, or possessing ''enemy propaganda'' articles, such as clippings from U.S. newspapers or copies of the U.N. Human Rights declaration.

  ''A search of the home of the defendant resulted in the seizure, among other things, of a Sony brand radio, a tape recorder, a digital battery charger, a
  type-writer, a Sony-brand personal laptop computer with all of its accessories -- and 18 envelopes containing journalistic articles,'' his indictment says.

  Germany, Spain, Canada, human rights groups such as Amnesty International, and even France's Communist Party have issued statements ''strongly
  condemning'' Cuba's wave of repression, I told the foreign ministers and their top aides. Are you ''condemning'' these sentences as well, or are you
  reacting with blander statements ''lamenting'' these events, or -- even worse -- expressing ''concern'' about them?, I asked.

  Before giving you my own opinion about their answers, let's hear what they had to say.

  Reached in Madrid, Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez told me through his spokesman that Mexico ''laments'' the prison sentences, and that it
  will take them into account in the April 16 vote on Cuba's human rights conditions at the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

  Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, whose country had not said anything about the Cuban crackdown on peaceful dissidents, responded, ``We are
  always worried about the human rights situation in any country, but the most strident actions are not always the most effective ones.''

  Foreign Minister Allan Wagner of Peru, whose country is cosponsoring a mild resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Commission asking that Cuba allow a
  human rights monitor to visit the island, told me that his country ''expresses its concern'' over the fate of the jailed dissidents, intellectuals and
  independent journalists in Cuba.

  Argentine Foreign Minister Carlos Ruckauf told me that ''the Cuban dictatorship has committed another crime against freedom of expression.'' But his boss,
  President Eduardo Duhalde, was at the same time evading any strong criticism of Cuba.

  Insiders say Duhalde is under pressure from his hand-picked presidential candidate, Néstor Kirchner, to vote in support of Cuba at the United Nations, as
  part of his efforts to capitalize on Argentina's escalating anti-American sentiment in the wake of the war in Iraq.

  What irony! The democratic leaders of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile were themselves peaceful opponents until recently, forced to knock on the
  doors of foreign governments, international human rights organizations -- and journalists -- to demand solidarity against their countries' authoritarian
  governments.

  Compared to Cuba's Rivero, they had it easy. Most of them were never imprisoned for having a typewriter, foreign newspapers, or for contacting foreign
  diplomats to explain their struggle for democracy. How can they remain silent in the face of such an outrage?

  There are three things Latin American presidents should do. First, they should follow Germany, Spain and Canada's examples, and freeze cooperation plans
  with Cuba. Second, they should issue a strong condemnation of Cuba at the U.N. in Geneva. And they should block Cuba's reelection to a new term on the
  Human Rights Commission. The vote comes up in late April.

  ''It's unconceivable that Cuba could be reelected once again, as if it had a right to be in that commission, when it systematically ignores the resolutions of
  the very commission it belongs to,'' says Jose Miguel Vivanco, Latin American director for Human Rights Watch. ``Latin American governments have a
  historic opportunity to stop this.''

  I agree.

  ''Lamenting,'' ''expressing concern'' or remaining silent -- like Brazil -- about the massive sentencing of peaceful activists is a pathetic response to Cuba's
  wave of repression. It will be hard to see Latin America's presidents as true democrats if they are quick to condemn rightist dictatorships but don't say a
  word about leftist dictatorships.